This invention relates to lighting fixtures and particularly to emergency lighting fixtures that are permanently installed and used in hospitals, office buildings and other public establishments which are required by safety codes to light a path of egress when there is power failure. Fixtures of the kind currently installed in such facilities include a protective housing which, e.g., may be explosion proof or otherwise capable of protecting the emergency lamp from the elements or other external forces and a reflector or other light beam providing device for directing the emergency light to a fixed location. That is, emergency lighting fixtures currently in use direct light to fixed locations or paths of egress. Many fixtures presently available utilize adjustment mechanisms to ensure that the light is properly directed. Such mechanism can be awkward, obtrusive and limited in function.
The invention described herein overcomes problems associated with the lighting fixtures noted above by providing an adjustability mechanism that is simple, easy to operate, dependable and economical. The source is provided with an additional protective plastic housing which also serves as a functional element in the adjustment mechanism. The appearance of the fixture is enhanced since obtrusive parts are eliminated.
Existing devices that have adjustment mechanisms require significant time and effort to make the required adjustment of the light source and include a separate locking mechanism to secure the light in the proper position. Such lighting fixtures are relatively complex having a number of interacting parts, which also makes them expensive to manufacture. In this invention a means is provided for adjusting a light source that is enclosed within a clear plastic housing (dome). This adjustment can be made from a position outside the housing and once adjusted will stay in place without an additional locking mechanism.
In the invention, as more fully described in the detailed description of the preferred embodiment, a structure is pivotally arranged within a housing with a portion exposed for access by the user. By rotation this exposed portion the fixture can be adjusted to the desired position where it will be maintained until readjusted by the user. The adjusting mechanism is generally flush with the exterior surface to create a smooth uninterrupted surface to the viewer.